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Welcome to the Vermont Model Criminal Jury Instructions. The instructions are sponsored by the Vermont Bar Association.
Use the drop-down menus above or the search function below to find individual instructions and the accompanying reporter's notes.
In addition, clicking on the menu headers above will show a table of contents for that section, and there is also a master table of contents available. Long-time users of the instructions will find the master table of contents to be in the familiar format.
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You may search for an instruction by using the name of the crime (e.g., kidnapping) or by using the statutory citation (e.g., 13 V.S.A. 2405 or, more simply, 2405). Note that the search software is simply reading the text on each page, and thus doesn't recognize "VSA" without the periods.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Eluding a Police Officer
September 8, 2020: The Committee has updated the instructions and reporter’s note for the crime of eluding a police officer.
Recklessness
August 28, 2020: The Committee has revised the instruction for the mental state “recklessly,” CR06-141, and the accompanying reporter’s note. The revised instruction and note can be found on the Mental Elements page.
Aggravated Animal Cruelty
December 20, 2019: The Committee has prepared instructions and a reporter’s note for aggravated animal cruelty, available here.
Juror Unanimity
November 22, 2019: The Committee has revised the reporter’s notes for the general and specific unanimity instructions to incorporate a reference to the recent case of State v. Robitille, 2019 VT 36, ¶¶ 47–50. The Committee has also inserted a … Continue reading
Partial Rule 29 Dismissal
October 22, 2019: The Committee has added a new instruction for situations where one or more charges have been dismissed pursuant to a V.R.Cr.P. 29(a) motion for judgment of acquittal, but where other charges remain for the jury’s consideration. The … Continue reading
DUI: Serious Bodily Injury and Death Resulting
September 20, 2019: The Committee has added new instructions for DUI-serious bodily injury and DUI-death resulting, and a new reporter’s note to accompany those instructions. Those revisions are available here.
Lewd and Lascivious Conduct with a Child
August 19, 2019: The Committee has revised the reporter’s note for the crime of Lewd and Lascivious Conduct with a Child to include a reference to State v. Discola, 2018 VT 7, ¶¶ 23–24, 207 Vt. 216.
Self Defense (use of deadly force)
July 26, 2019: The Committee has revised the Self Defense (use of deadly force) instruction, CR07-111, to reflect that not all uses of deadly force result in a killing.
Definition of “Deadly Weapon”
July 8, 2019: The Committee has revised the reporter’s notes in three different places to incorporate a reference to State v. Kuzawski, 2017 VT 118, ¶¶ 8–18, 206 Vt. 351, which discusses the definition of “deadly weapons”: CR10-211. General Definition … Continue reading
Attempt
July 8, 2019: The Committee has revised the reporter’s note accompanying the general “attempt” instruction (CR09-201) to incorporate references to more recent cases discussing attempt, including State v. Sawyer, 2018 VT 43, ¶¶ 12–22.